Sustainability

Celebrating Earth Day is a UNC Charlotte favorite tradition. Due to coronavirus stay-at-home orders, the annual campus cleanup isn’t possible.  Students, faculty and staff can, however, scan take pics or videos of themselves cleaning up their own neighborhoods and post them using #unccrecycles and #earthday2020.In recognition of Earth Day 2020, here are some of the ways UNC Charlotte protects the environment:

Academic Affairs and the Office of Sustainability are collaborating to expand the University’s annual Earth Month celebration to “Earth Semester” in recognition of this year’s 50th Earth Day.Traditionally observed April 22, Earth Day has been celebrated since 1970. In recent years, the University’s Earth Month expanded to increase awareness beyond one day. Last year marked the largest event yet and featured an Earth Day Festival in Belk Plaza. 

UNC Charlotte has been recognized for its sustainability efforts for the third time by the Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges.” This guide helps prospective students understand colleges and universities’ environmental responsibility. 

Sustainability Week is an annual observance that marked its sixth year earlier this month. Organizers noted the support of units across campus resulted in a successful effort. For Chartwells, the University food service provider, there are benefits to partnering with the Office of Sustainability on the transportation fair and other sustainability events.

UNC Charlotte’s 2019 Campus Sustainability Week is Monday through Friday, Oct. 14-18. This annual observance engages the University community in sustainable practices on campus.Get Outside, It’s Movie Night: “An American Ascent”

As the summer sun continues to display its sweltering strength, it is important to intentionally find ways to stay cool, and these tips can help:

Earlier this year, UNC Charlotte competed in the national RecycleMania competition, involving 300 colleges in 43 states. The RecycleMania competition results were released recently. This year, UNC Charlotte composted or recycled 69.5 million pounds of waste, and 300 million single-use plastic bottles were collected during the competition.

UNC Charlotte’s Office of Sustainability will hold a collection event for unwanted personal electronic devices (e-waste) and professional attire from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, in Parking Lot 5A. Items collected will be donated to benefit those in need.

E-waste collection

SoVi Dining Hall and Crown Commons were designated recently as “3 Star Certified Green Restaurants” by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national nonprofit organization helping restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable.

Currently, the Charlotte area has five GRA-designated facilities, and two of those are UNC Charlotte’s SoVi Dining Hall and Crown Commons. The University is one of five higher education institutions in North Carolina with a certified green restaurant.

A tree planting, an Earth Day Festival and the spring Campus Cleanup are just some of the activities planned by Facilities Management to encourage the University community to become more aware of and involved in environmental issues throughout the month of April.